Oiling system for engines.



E. M. WHITE.

OILING SYSTEM FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1911.

Patented Ma s, 1913.

Irv/swim? EPW51 511 m.

To all whom it may conce n;

Beit known that l, suns? WHITE, a citizen or the United States, and a resident of Globe, Gila county Arizona, have invented certain Improvements in Giling Systems for Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel construction and arrangement of partsparticularly designed for use in connection with internal combustion engines such as are employed on motor vehicles, although it may be used on other types of engines; one object being to arrange the oil containing vessels and conduits so that an ample su jply of lubricant will be automatically circulated. under allconditions and particularly when the engine is inclined as when the motor vehicle on which it is mounted is ascending a grade.

I further desire to provide-an oiling systern of the above noted general type in which when the engine is inclined an increased quantity of oil is automatically caused to be put in active circulation; the arrangement being such that when the engine again assumes substantially horizontal position the amount of oil in such active circulation is automatically reduced to the norm-ah Another object ofthe invention is to provide a novel form of engine crank case pan ticularly designed to act in cooperation with the engine cranks of a multi-cylinder engine for automatically circulating oil under operating conditions; the construction being such that a relatively large amount of: oil is normally held in storage but is automatically supplied to or removed from active circulation as the case may be, when the posit-ion of the engine is varied in a predetermined manner.

- These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in vhichz Figure l, is an elevation, partly in vertical section illustrating my invention as applied to a four cylinder engineg l ig. 2, is a transverse vertical section of the crank case of the engine shown in Fig. l; and Figs. 3 and i are respectively longitudinal and transverse sections of a slightly modified form of crank case provided with my invention.

tween the a port- 21.

F nted lllay l d i Serial 0. 6535,5E4.

the shove i, 2, 3, and i reprethe cylinders of a four cylinder engine having a crank case 5 and a main shaft 6 arrange in any desired and suitable manner; the'crank case being of the inclosed type. The shaft 6 is provided with four cranks-oi which two are shown at 7 and 8, and has fixed to it a fly wheel 9, which, as is customary in most forms of motor vehicles, is at what is in practice the rear end of the engine.

The timing shaft of the engine is shown at 10 and is actuated from the crank shaft by the timing gears 11 and 12. The lower portion of the crank case is preferably though not necessarily, made in the form of a single elongated casting 13 of a generally semi-cylindrical form, divided into a number of crank compartment-s a, l), c, and

(Z by transverse partitions 14%, 15, 16, and 17 in each 01"? which operates one oi the cranks. An important feature of the invention, l)0W8V61, llQS in the provision of a: her 18 forming a reservoir hetiveen the trout partition 17 and the end 19 of the crank. case, and this reservoir preferably of such for-in as to contain relatively large amountof oil, being at all times in connection with the compartment or formed hepartition 1 and the ot' the crank case through a conduit or channel extending centrally under the crank case and opening into said compartment through lnis conduit or passage 22 IS likewise of considerable cubic capacity so that it and toe compartment 18 are capahl of holding a considerable amount of oil When the engine is in its normal level position shown in Fig. 1. Each of the four compartments in which the cranks operate has on its opposite sides inclined gutters or. troughs 23, the upper end of each of which extends from a pointat one side of the crank case above and some distance in front crank is collected by said gutters and dis-- charged thereby into the nextadjacent forward compartment.

Oil may be fed to the crank case through a conduit 24 delivering on to the timing gears, and under operating conditions the crank operating 1I1- the compartment a, to-

v gether with its cooperating parts, is lubriand the port-or opening 21 into the coinpartment a, from whence it is again taken into active circulation and serves to lubricate theengine as described. If, however, the engine be inclined, as when the vehicle on which it is mounted is ascending a grade,

the oil in the reservoir 18, as well as the greater portion of that in the conduit 22, immediately flows under the action of gravity into the compartment a, so that the crank operating in this compartment-receives a greatly increased amount of lubricant.

' In ascending a grade the parts of the engine require more lubricant owing to the increase of work performed and by my oiling system the increase in the amount oflubricant delivered to the compartment a and consequently passed therefrom to the other compartments, is proportional to the inclination of the engine and hence to the. grade. The greater volume of oil thus placed in active circulation is passed by the crank in the compartment a to the compartments 0, c

.and d, with the result that the engine is provided with an amount of oil greater than that normally in active circulation, depending upon the grade and hence in a large measure upon the work being performed. As soon as the engine returns to its level position the reservoir 18 and the passage 22 are again filled with oil which, while maintaining a supply to the .compartment a, is-

not in active circulation in the same sense as that within the. compartments a, b, c, and d. However, as long as the engine is inclined as indicated, there is no oil in storage in the compartment 18 and but relatively little in the lower part of the conduit 22.

If desired, in place'of the inclined troughs 23 or their equivalent constructions, I may form the lower part of the crank case as in Figs. 3 and 4 with two horizontal collecting troughs 25 for each of the four track compartments. From each of these troughs a conduit 26 leads down to the lower portion of the next adjacent forward crank compartment or in the case of the last crank coinpa-rtment (Z, into the reservoir 18.

I claim 1. The combination in an engine oiling system of a crank case provided with a series of crank compartments and a reservoir means for'collecting the oil splashed up by each crank and delivering it into the next adjacent compartment and finally into said reservoir; with a conduit extending from one of the compartments under the other compartments and opening into the bottom of the reservoir. I

2. The combination in an engine oiling system of a crank case having a series of oilcontaining crank compartments; a reservoir in line with and at substantially the same level as said compartments; a series of conduits for causing oil to be successively passed through said compartments and finally to the reservoir; with a conduit connecting the bottom of the first compartment of the series to the bottom of the reservoir.

3. The combination in an engine oiling system of a crank case having a series of crank compartments; with means for causing oil to be passed successively through said compartments, the same including a container normally holding a relatively large body of oil out of active circulation; and means for connecting said container to one of the compartments of the series in position to cause the oil in storage to be automatically delivered to said compartment when the engine is inclined.

4. The combination in an engine oiling system of a crank case having a series of compartments; a reservoir at the forward end of the engine at substantially the level of said compartments; a conduit connecting the lower part of said reservoir with the lower part of the compartment at the rear end of the engine; and means for causing oil thrown up by the cranks to flow from one compartment to another and finally to said reservoir; the reservoir being formed to retain a relatively large body of oil out of active circulation when the engine is in a level position. A

5. The combination in an engine oiling system of a crank case having a series of compartments; a reservoir at the forward end of the engine; a conduit connecting said reservoir with the compartment at the rear end of the engine, and means for causing oil thrown up by the cranks to flow from one compartment to another and finally to said reservoir; the reservoir and conduit being formed to retain a relatively large body of oil out of active circulation when the engine is in a level position and mounted to deliver said oil to the compartments when the en-. gine is longitudinally inclined.

6. The combination in an engine oiling system of a crank case having a crank compartment an d a reservoir at the forward end thereof; means for collecting the oil splashed up by the crank and delivering it into said name to this specification, in the presence of reservoir gdanlzll a conliluit connecting the restwo subscribing witnesses. ervoir an t e cran compartment in position to deliver a materially increased amount ERNEST WHITE 5 of oil to said compartment when the engine Witnesses:

is inclined. B. E. Mnnmcr'r,

In testimony whereof, I have signed my-- Rev N. DAVIDSON. 

